Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1294 - 1287: Troop Deployment Map

Chapter 1294: Chapter 1287: Troop Deployment Map

Feng fell into deep thought. Of course, she wasn’t actually pondering; she was waiting for a message from Fulajie’er.

However, seeing her like that, Xuan misunderstood and smiled before continuing, "The eighteen cities south of Wufeng, if you’re to capture them one by one, you likely don’t have the strength. So, whether we voluntarily give them up or you take them yourselves, that will depend on your actions."

Feng slightly lowered her eyelids, maintaining her silence. After finally receiving a transmission from Fulajie’er, she immediately asked, "After all the effort to take down so many cities in West Outer Heaven, if you were to give them all up, how would you explain it to your Emperor?"

"If we can’t win, we retreat; if the losses are too great, we withdraw our troops. Isn’t that just common sense?" Xuan smiled and shrugged, "The Empire never intended to claim West Outer Heaven. It was only some greedy villains who coveted the rich mines there and persuaded His Majesty to launch this conquest."

As he spoke, his smile faded, and then, with narrowed eyes, he said, "As for the situation in West Outer Heaven after the Heavenly Army withdraws, it will be up to those noble families to decide. If you don’t like them, I can also help you drive them away. In any case, we wouldn’t want to see these guys establish a firm foothold in West Outer Heaven."

"What exactly are the conflicts within your ranks?" Feng couldn’t help but ask.

"I have nothing to share about that. It’s our internal affair, and right now, we’re discussing other matters." Xuan’s tone was tight.

"It seems you’ve been waiting for us for some time, so you should already have a plan to deal with those generals, right?" Feng relayed Cheng Ziang’s question.

"Hmm, I suppose," Xuan nodded, "After the last campaign, the Heavenly Army will no longer advance north, and will fully enter a defensive posture. When the time comes, I’ll disperse the generals to various locations for garrison duty. All you need to do is defeat them one by one. That should be easy for you, no?"

"Are you certain you won’t move your troops?" Feng asked.

"I can guarantee it, but," Xuan paused, then continued, "I will organize a mobile force, entirely composed of generals, responsible for reinforcing different areas. So when you launch your attacks, it’s best to hit them from the east once, from the west another, and try not to get caught by them. If you can’t even manage that, then I don’t think there’s any need for us to cooperate."

"What if we directly attack Wufeng City?" Feng inquired.

"Heh, do as you please," Xuan responded to her words not with panic but with laughter, "I have no other skills, but when it comes to escaping, I’m top-notch. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have lived to sit in the Marshal’s seat."

"You can attack however you want," he continued, "In the end, for us, both the army and the generals are expendable. As long as we achieve our objectives, it doesn’t matter if they are all consumed."

"After suffering a great defeat, how will you justify yourselves to your Emperor when you return?" Feng continued to probe.

"The words of Emperor Wu may not necessarily be useful," Xuan replied without specifying, merely responding with subdued indifference.

Upon hearing his words, Feng once again sank into deep thought. Of course, it was mainly Cheng Ziang reflecting; she was merely a conduit for communication.

"Here is the distribution map of generals across our garrisons. Be careful not to let it fall into their hands," Xuan said. As he spoke, he suddenly raised his hand, flinging a dark object towards Feng.

Feng suppressed her impulse to cut it down with a single stroke and reached out with her left hand to catch the object tossed over by him. On closer inspection, it was a scroll.

"You’d better act quickly. Now that I command the Heavenly Army alone, I can ensure that my word is my bond. If you keep dragging things out, and the Empire sends a new Marshal, I fear I can no longer guarantee that my word will be my bond," Xuan said, hands behind his back.

Feng eyed him warily, then cautiously unfurled the scroll. It contained a map of towns around Wufeng City, clearly marking the troop deployments at each garrison point.

However, she didn’t understand it very well, as it was written in the Demon Clan’s script. Over the past three years, Feng’s main focus had been on learning the language; she hadn’t studied the writing much.

"We’re still enemies, right?" Feng closed the scroll, and suddenly threw out a seemingly unrelated question.

"Hmm, of course," Xuan nodded, taking it for granted.

"So when we meet on the battlefield, we’ll still fight each other fiercely, right?" Feng continued to ask.

"What else can you do when you encounter each other on the battlefield, if not fight to the death—have a casual chat?" Xuan said with a smile.

"Then... take care, and don’t die by our hands," Feng said coldly as she bid him farewell.

"You too, be careful. Walking around at night, you might encounter ghosts," Xuan said with a meaningful tone.

After the pleasantries, Feng took a few steps backward and left the room. Then, with a flash, she disappeared on the spot, leaving Xuan to shake his head helplessly before he went forward and closed the door.

Feng, anxious to return, hurried towards the outskirts of the city. But soon after, her presence caught the attention of some people.

Powerful perception abilities were not exclusive to Feng; the generals in the city had them as well. Just a flicker of intuition was enough for someone to tail Feng—though she seemed unaware of it.

Empowered with enhanced mobility gear, Feng moved swiftly, darting along rooftops. She soon reached the city wall and then, with a leap, easily crossed over it and out of the city.

Once outside the city, Feng didn’t stop but continued towards the prearranged location. After more than ten minutes of travel, she finally arrived at the meeting point, then stopped and slowly drew her long sword from its scabbard.

"It was quite the effort to follow me all this way..." Feng slowly turned around, her sword’s tip drawing an arc on the ground.

The sudden speech startled the pursuer, who turned to run, but quickly felt the magic around him coalesce, and then he slammed hard into a solid wall.

Feng might not have noticed someone was following her, but Fulajie’er certainly did. Since Feng entered the city, Fulajie’er had been covertly covering for her—how could she not know there was someone tailing Feng?

After the man hit the wall, he let out an exclamation. Then, before Feng could even move, there was a dull thud from behind her, and the man immediately fell to the ground, rolling and screaming in pain.

"Old Hu, make him shut up!" Cheng Ziang’s voice came from behind her, followed by two figures rushing past her towards the man who had been following her.

The shot was fired by Baiyue. Although it was pitch-dark all around, she had Fulajie’er’s assistance in correcting the trajectory, so even if she couldn’t see her target, she was confident she could hit.

The Yuanzi sniper rifle struck the man in the stomach. Due to the Black Hole Effect of the Magic Crystal, the Yuanzi was drawn to his Dantian and immediately exploded it.

A Cultivator with a shattered Dantian was essentially reduced to a mere mortal. Furthermore, since he was also gravely wounded, he was no different from trash, completely at the mercy of others. This is precisely why Cultivators deeply feared and hated the Star-shattering effect.

With the coordinated efforts of Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke, they swiftly bound the man securely and gagged him, preventing him from making noise that could attract reinforcements.

"An unexpected catch, eh, Little Fengye? Did you know from the start someone was following you, which is why you led him here?" Hu Daoke clapped his hands and asked.

"Ah, oh, yes..." Feng hesitated for a moment, then hastily nodded her head.

"Nicely done, Xiao Fula," Cheng Ziang said approvingly.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph," Fulajie’er let out a smug hum, though her tone was ambiguous, seemingly not wanting to compete with Feng for credit.

Actually, from detecting the tail to arranging the ambush, it was all orchestrated by Fulajie’er. After more than a year of adventures and three years of learning, she was no longer the naive girl she once was, but had grown into an outstanding support.